ideas from a range of sources, including educational pioneers, overseas
settings and children themselves, says Nicole Weinstein.
Many settings take the 'cookie cutter' approach to enabling environments, planning their nursery around a rough template of core areas and resources. But while the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework states that settings should provide a 'challenging' and 'developmentally appropriate' environment 'based on children's interests', it does not stipulate how to lay out a nursery. And Ofsted's prime concern is not about how settings approach their learning environment: it is about meeting the outcomes. So, where can settings turn to for inspiration to think more deeply and creatively about their enabling environments?
Most nurseries will typically have five or six activity areas, but practitioners who are tuned into their children's needs and interests - and with their own creative passions - will often give prominence to a particular area.
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